Elliott Management Corp., the hedge
fund that backed filmmaker Relativity Media LLC, said the
executive overseeing the entertainment investment is leaving as
the company reduces its focus on movies.

Michael Joe, former president of Relativity, will leave in
early 2012 for a new opportunity, New York-based Elliott
Management said today in an e-mailed statement. He joined in May
to oversee the company’s investments in Relativity and a
Universal Pictures film slate.

Movies are a “shrinking focus” for Elliott, Jesse Cohn, a
portfolio manager with the company, said in the statement.
Relativity Chief Executive Officer Ryan Kavanaugh is seeking an
investor to buy Elliott’s minority stake in the studio, the
website The Wrap reported in June.

“My passion is to be an active participant within the
media and entertainment industry,” Joe, a former Universal
Pictures executive, said in the statement.

Susie Arons, a spokeswoman for Elliott, said the company
had no further comment.

Relativity agreed in June to spin off the Universal
Pictures slate to Elliott. The studio is scheduled to distribute
seven movies this year, according to film researcher Box Office
Mojo.